Track construction of railroads.



A. BENDER.

TRACK GONSTRUGTION 0F RAILROADS.

APPLICATION IILED DEC. 12, 1913.

1,()95,()72 Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

lll1lllllllnlulllllllllllllHfl ammoz COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON, D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW BENDER, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

TRACK CONSTRUCTION OF RAILROADS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW BENDER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Track Construction of Railroads, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in track construction of railroads.

In carrying out my invention it is my purpose to construct a railway, the rails of which being formed of companion interlocking members, the joints of which being broken throughout the length of the railway, and so providing the said railway with substantially continuous rails.

It is also my purpose to construct a railway of rails which comprise an inner and an outer member, each of said members being formed with heads so that a wheel having a central flange may travel upon the headsof both of the sections, or whereby an ordinary car wheel may travel upon the head of either of the sections, the head sections having interengaging members whereby the said portions thereof are prevented from lateral movement with respect to each other, while ordinary spikes are employed for securing the flanges of the sections in proper engaging relation with each other and upon the sleepers or ties for the rails.

A still further object of the invention is the construction of a railway which includes rails, each made up of two companion sec-" tions wherein the employment of fish plates, bolts and nuts, or analogous devices are en tirely dispensed with in connecting the joints of the sections. i

A still further object of the invention is the peculiar construction and arrangement of the members which comprise my compound rail, whereby one of said sections may be employed for connecting the ends of two 7 ordinary railway rails to obviate the necessity of providing the webs of said rail ends with openings for the bolts of the ordinary fish plate or other connecting member, which openings render the rail weak and susceptible to breakage, and to effectively secure the said rail ends against lateral movement or displacement.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction,

combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and falling within the scope of the appended claims;

Specification of LettersPatent.

Application filed December 12, 1913.

Patented Apr. 28, 1914.

Serial No. 806,264.

In the drawing there has been illustrated a simple and preferred embodiment of my improvement reduced to practice, but it is to be understood that the important instrumentalities thereof may be varied without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the said drawing: Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating a length of track madeup of rails constructed in accordance with the present invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged de tail plan view showing the meeting ends of I twoof the outer and two of the inner mem bersof my rail, Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken through the rail in a line with one of the ties, and illustrating a wheel having a central rim arranged upon the rail, and Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view illustrating the manner of connecting the meeting ends of two railway rails.

My improved rail is in the drawing broadly indicated by the numeral 1. The rail comprises an outer member 2 and an inner member 3. It may here be stated that while the rail sections 2 are referred to as the outer sections, and the rail sections 3 referred to asthe inner sections, either of the said railsmay be arranged upon the inner orouter side of a track, if desired. Each of the rail sections 2 comprises a vertically disposed plate or web 4 which is of an equal thickness throughout, but which is formed, at its upper edge,with an outturned flanged portion providinga head 5, and which likewise is formed at its lower end with an outturned flange which provides a base 6. The lower face of, the base is horizontally straight, but the upper face of the ,same is inclined toward the web 4, as clearly illustrated in the drawing. Likewise the head 5 has-its underface inclined to the outer face of the Web, and the inner face .of the web, at a suitable distance above its base 6, is provided .with an inturned longitudinally extending flange member, which, I for the sake of convenience, will refer to hereinafter as a lip, and which is indicated by the numeral 7. The inner face of the web 4, at a upper edge, with an outturned enlargement forming the said member 3 with a head 10. The under or lower face of the head inclines inwardly to the outer face of the web 9, as clearly shown in the drawings, and the said Web 9, at its lower portion, is formed with a base 11. The base is arranged laterally of the web, and the portion extending from the inner face of the web is of a length equaling the length of the lip 7, the said portion underlying the said lip 7 and being designated by the numeral 12. The portion 12 will hereinafter be referred to as a lip which is formed upon the base 11, and the lower wall of the base, as well as that of the lip 12, is horizontally straight so as to lie flush with the base of the rail section 2 when the said sections are assembled. The web 9, at a suitable distance below its head 10, is formed upon the inner face thereof with an inturned grooved flanged member or hook 13, the said hook having its bill downturned and adapted to be received within the grooved portion of the flange 8. This interlocking connection, provided by the hook 13 and the grooved flange 8 serves to effectively holdj the upper portions of the rail sections; against lateral displacement, and the edgesf of the lips 7 and 12, contacting with the in ner faces of the web 4 and 9, together with the contact portions of the hook and grooved flange hold the sections 2 and 3 in proper spaced relation with each other. I have found it desirable, but not essential, to provide railplates 14 which are arranged upon the ties 15, and upon which my improved rail rests. The plates have their longitudinal edges formed with upturned lips 16 which contact with the outer longitudinal edges of the base members 6 and 11 of the rail and which serve to force the lower portions of the rail sections into contact. To sec'ur'ethe rail and plates 14- upon the ties 15, I provide the ordinary headed spikes 17 the heads of the same overlying the flanges 16 of the plate 14 as well as contacting with the upper inclined surfaces of the base members 6 and 11.

In Fig. 3 of the drawings I have illustrated a portion of a car wheel, indicated by the numeral 18. This wheel is provided witha central rim or bead '19 forming the said wheel with bearing surfaces to the opposite sides of the rim, one of the said faces resting upon the head 5 and the second face resting upon the head 10 of the rail. It is, of course, to be understood that a rail constructed in accordance with my improvement is not restricted to use in connection with a wheel, similar to the wheel 18, but the said Wheel may be used upon the rolling stock which travels over a track made up of rails of my construction if desired, and furthermore, such a wheel demonstrates that both or either of the heads 10 may serve as bearintegrally formed ing surfaces for the tread of a wheel which may have its rim or flange either upon its outer or upon its inner face.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a means for securing the ends of two rails of the ordinary construction of grooved flanged rails. In this figure I employ only a section of one of my inner rail members 3 for making the joint for the ends of the rails 20 and 21. The hook 18 is received within the groove of the flange 8 of the rails 20-21, and the lip 12 of the section 3 is dispensed with, while the base 11 overlies the inner base flanges 6 of the said rails 2021, spikes 17 contacting with the base 11 and entering a tie 15. Of course, the rail plate let may be employed if desired.

By reference to the drawing, it will be noted that the ends of the sections 2 are arranged away from the ends of the sections 3 when the track is laid so that the joints of the rails are broken throughout the track, and furthermore, that the employment of fish plates, or nuts and bolts passing through the webs of the rail sections, is entirely dispensed with, and from the above description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the simplicity of the device as well as the advantages thereof will, it is thought, be perfectly apparent to those skilled in the art to which such invention appertains without further detailed description.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. A track made up of companion rail sections and the meeting ends of one of the sections being spaced away from the meeting ends of the second section, each of said sections comprising a vertical web portion which is of an equal thickness throughout, the said webs at their upper edges being formed with flanges which extend from their outer faces to provide heads, one of the said members below its head having a grooved flange which extends its entire length, the second member having its inner face below its head provided with a hook which extends its entire length and which is adapted to be received within the grooved flange of the first mentioned rail section, the webs of both of the rail sections having their outer faces flanged to provide base members for the sections, the inner faces of the webs adjacent the base members thereof being provided with inturned co-acting lips, one of which being adapted to overlie the other and both adapted to abut with the inner face of the web of the companion section, a tie upon which the base members of the rail sections rest, and spikes having their heads engaging with the base members of the sections and entering the tie.

2. A rail including two companion sections, each including a head and a base, and interengaging members upon each of the sections for spacing the heads and the webs of the said sections.

3. A rail comprising two companion sections, each including a vertically straight web having one of its edges formed with an outturned head and its opposite edge formed with an outturned flange comprising a base, a hook upon the inner face of one of the sections below its head, a grooved flange upon the inner face of the second section adapted to receive the hook, inwardly disposed over lapping members arranged upon the inner faces of the webs opposite the base flanges, and means for securing the rails to a tie.

4. A rail including two members having 15 co-engaging hook members for spacing the heads of the rail.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ANDREW BENDER.

Witnesses:

WM. KQERTH, BENNETT S. JONES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, 11.0. 

